Vadodara:
In November last year, Mehboob Hasan's one-room home in Vadodara's Kalyan Nagar slum colony was among 800 houses demolished in order to build a riverfront development project. He, along with hundreds of others, was assured that an alternate house would be provided, but that still remains a distant dream.
For almost six months, Mr Hasan lived with his family in a rented accommodation waiting for that elusive home. A poor auto driver, he cannot afford further stay on rent and now is back on the demolition site, putting up a temporary shelter with a plastic sheet acting as a cover from the scorching sun.
"Tell our politicians to stay in this scorching heat even for a minute... apart from heat they cannot even bear the mosquito menace... we were told that good days will come... don't know what happened to that... we are homeless," he lamented.
Mr Hasan's son has dropped out from school and now helps his father. "Now I go out for daily labour to fetch some money for my father... have no other option,'' nine-year-old Mazhar said.
In the same colony, Arif Pathan has been running from pillar to post for the alternate home they were promised. In fact last month a draw of lots was carried out and civic officials assured that flats would be allotted. But protests by some local residents where the housing scheme for the displaced had been constructed allegedly ensured that the allotment was kept on hold.
"We are not given official explanation on why the draw has been kept on hold," said Mr Pathan.
Another displaced person, Anwar Hussain, used to live at Kamatipura located at a stone's throw from Kalyan Nagar slums. After the demolition, the Vadodara Municipal Corporation had assured Gujarat High Court that about 200-odd families from here would be provided flats in an alternate colony at Kalali on the outskirts of the city. Despite the colony ready for possession, the allotment is yet to be done. The area has witnessed a booming real estate in the last one year and now the displaced allege that developers are putting pressure on the civic body to cancel the allotment.
"At times they say we will be shifted to this place only to cancel it and then some other places crops up," Mr Hussain said.
The city Mayor Bharat Shah and the Municipal Commissioner refused to talk on the issue, despite repeated attempts.